One of the “controversial” points was whether the 2XLifeCyclePlus product is or is not a Windows XP replacement shell. It is a Windows XP replacement shell. The shell replacement is meant to mitigate the problems arising from the fact that Microsoft no longer supports Windows XP. No longer supports means that Microsoft will no longer provide security updates, patches, or service packs to the now outdated operating system.

Who knew there could be so much controversy and angst over helping people to save money and extend the life of a beloved product? I, for one, did not.

Who knew that a project that I believe is basically commercial philanthropy could cause problems for so many otherwise normal people? Again, not I.

Several of the virtual chalk wielders stated that XP users should just “let go” of XP and let it die. To prolong it is more cruel than just sending it into the annals of history. Those who have to spend profits to accommodate Windows 7 or Windows 8 in their environments is also very cruel, especially when they already have something stable, usable, and low maintenance to use.

In this podcast, Scott Sims, 2X Software’s Sales Director, and I discuss the 2XLifeCyclePlus product and its features plus its relationship to the 2X Application Server XG product, which is similar in function to the Citrix Presentation/Application Server but at approximately 25% of the cost.

This political thriller will put your teeth on edge because of its very real look at one possible, but fictional, outcome of our current political and economic climate.

“Three ordinary American sisters from Texas must cope with the destruction of their comfortable lives. They must survive the dangers of dramatic upheaval as they rediscover their faith amidst an economic tsunami affecting the United States and Europe.

Following a collapse of the U.S. dollar, Kate, Megan, and Annie each struggle to overcome personal failings as they make their way back home to the Texas ranch where they grew up, and back to their core values. If an economic collapse was not enough, Americans must also contend with the rise of a profound level of oppression brought on by a statist political class, as well as a fundamental power shift in the Middle East.

The situation is dire and freedom-loving Americans will be gravely tested if they wish to retain their freedom and their God-given rights.”

After reading this book, I feel like pulling a significant amount of money out of the bank and burying it in the back yard–just in case. If this book doesn’t send a few chills up your spine, check your pulse. I’m not sure that I’ll ever be the same.

If you check out Danielle’s site and the incredible art on it, created especially for Phoenix Republic, let her know that you agree with me that this book and images would make an incredible Graphic Novel. Because it would.

Chuck Bryan, Team Leader for Linux on Power Systems, and I discuss Power 7 and Power 7+ Systems, the power behind the famous Watson computer, and the recent Linux on Power Systems announcement from IBM, the IBM PowerLinux 7R4 server.

The embedded player requires Adobe Flash. If you need a different delivery method, please notify me.

This interview focuses on IBM’s announcement about the new PowerLinux System (PowerLinux 7R4) for analytics and cloud computing. The PowerLinux 7R4 server is the same technology behind Watson. The purpose of the PowerLinux 7R4 is to provide businesses with a system that is an energy and cost-efficient computing platform to run your data-centric workloads for analytics, transaction processing, applications, and other compute-intense workloads.

The Power Systems line provides you with a secure, reliable computing and energy efficient virtualization platform.

An interesting addition to IBM’s announcement, that Chuck discusses during the podcast, is that IBM has partnered with EnterpriseDB, the company that develops and supports the open source database, PostgreSQL, to bring you a low-cost, Oracle-compatible solution. EnterpriseDB’s Postgres Plus Advanced Server allows you to seamlessly migrate off of Oracle and onto an equally capable database (RDBMS) for a fraction of Oracle’s cost.

In May 2013 IBM opened the world’s first IBM’s Power Systems Linux Center in Beijing, China and in June 2013 IBM announced its intention to open two more IBM Power Systems Linux Centers in New York and Austin, TX.

This post was written as part of the IBM for Midsize Businessprogram, which provides midsize businesses with the tools, expertise and solutions they need to become engines of a smarter planet.

I’ve been compensated to contribute to this program, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own and don’t necessarily represent IBM’s positions, strategies or opinions.

In the podcast, the IBM team and I cover the general features and aspects of SmartCloud Entry. Plus, I ask the team some tough questions about affordability, maintenance, ease of deployment of new resources and more.

Why it’s frugal: IBM’s SmartCloud Entry is frugal because it enables businesses to provision cloud resources with a few simple mouse clicks, it’s inexpensive compared to other cloud solutions, it’s easy for businesses to create a private cloud without having to purchase additional hardware or without having to replace what they already have. SmartCloud Entry is multi-vendor compatible and multi-platform capable.

If you don’t get all of your questions answered from the podcast, you can contact an IBM partner and connect to IBM’s Cloud Computing site for more information. The site provides you with several videos, features lists, links to products and services, and much more including a community site where you can read blogs, watch videos, and participate in cloud forums.

Ready to learn Windows PowerShell? Learn from the best: Microsoft MVP award recipient Don Jones, author of “Learn Windows PowerShell 3 in a Month of Lunches,” presents a video training series that will help you master PowerShell’s foundations with absolutely zero prior experience.

Using a friendly, approachable style and a carefully planned outline, Don introduces you to PowerShell’s ins and outs, one piece at a time. With a focus on teaching you how to use PowerShell to actually teach yourself, you’ll become “immediately effective” in just a few short lessons, and start exploring some of PowerShell’s high-end capabilities. Full of clear demonstrations and advice for avoiding the most common pitfalls and “gotchas,” this is the perfect way to learn Microsoft’s new command-line and scripting technology.

By 2017, the CMO will Spend More on IT Than the CIO, according to Gartner. With that in mind, small and midsize businesses (SMBs) are evaluating strategies for business success, keeping in mind that new technologies and marketing trends are likely to take center stage in the coming year.

In the podcast, Ed and I discuss how SMBs can better understand the individual consumer, how SMBs are leveraging mobile and cloud technologies in order to unfold new business opportunities, how new technologies are helping SMBs provide better customer analysis to help grow business, some best practices for SMBs to more effectively manage a more global and remote workforce to increase overall productivity and the top challenges SMBs face today as the consumer purchasing patterns change.

Chris Dotson is currently the Worldwide Infrastructure Architect for Infrastructure and Provisioning Requirements in the IBM CIO office. In this role, Chris is involved in many different cloud initiatives in IBM, with a specific focus on cloud security. Prior to that, Chris was the lead architect for the IBM CIO Dev/Test Cloud, an internal private cloud within IBM created in 2009 that provides infrastructure services to developers and testers. Chris currently holds twelve professional certifications, including the Open Group Master Certified IT Architect certification.

As the industry prepares to turn the page on another year, Chris looks ahead at the trends that he believes will dominate the landscape in 2013. They include:

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) will mature with a greater focus on service level agreements. This development will draw more providers in the market and increased choice. We’ll buy services the same way we buy cars. We’ll specify exactly what we need for mileage, cargo capacity and performance – and expect providers to deliver.

The year of Platform as a Service (PaaS). IaaS can be somewhat difficult to use, but PaaS promises to provide popular services without all the complexity and customization. Research indicates that PaaS is about to break out, and 2013 could be the year.

Get API-Happy. It’s cool that people can provision their own services, but the real promise of cloud is realized when applications can do the same thing. The programmableweb.com application program interface (API) directory has doubled in size in the last year, and there’s plenty of growth still to come. Learn what to look for in the coming year.

Standards Mature. While many IaaS providers have settled on the Amazon APIs, there’s very little standardization in the PaaS market. Expect to see a lot more standards activity in this area in 2013, which will translate into better and more flexible services.

That’s just the beginning. Learn more about where the cloud market is headed in this provocative and interactive webcast. Come ready to ask your own questions as Chris looks into his crystal ball at Cloud Outlook 2013.